Ulster and Ireland finally get some good injury news.
Iain Henderson and Tommy Bowe will have to sit out the Six Nations but Joe Schmidt should be able to call on his backline organiser.
Jared Payne’s foot injury appears to be a pain of the past following Ulster’s latest move to register players for the Champion Cup.
The northern province have swapped Jared Payne for Peter Nelson, who is out for the remainder of the season, in their list of players registered for European action.
Payne has been out of action since the World Cup, last October. He was initially ruled out of Ireland’s final pool game against France before a second scan revealed a bone fracture.
If he does return for this weekend’s game against Oyonnax it would end his spell on the sidelines at 15 weeks.
Connacht Rugby also released an update on Robbie Henshaw this afternoon. The 23-year-old will go for a further scan on his hand next week and, all things going well, will be back in action later this month.
Ulster have also been boosted by news that Craig Gilroy and Darren Cave could both be fit for the away fixture, which was postponed in November following the Paris terrorist attacks.
